An updated national strategy to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS in the next five years was released Thursday by the Obama administration, with some local organizations praising its focus on minorities and the Southern states, but others saying the goals don’t go far enough.

The National HIV/AIDS Strategy, signed by President Barack Obama, includes 37 recommended actions to be completed by 2020 to reduce new HIV infections and help those who already have the virus find and receive consistent treatment.

“The United States will become a place where new HIV infections are rare, and when they do occur, every person, regardless of age, gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or socioeconomic circumstance will have unfettered access to high-quality, life-extending care, free from stigma and discrimination,” according to the mission statement of the strategy.

At least 1.2 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV and an estimated 1 in 8 people are unaware of their infection, which means they are not receiving regular medical care. Of those who are in treatment, 30 percent can say their virus is suppressed enough so that they can no longer pass on the virus, but the federal government wants to increase that figure.

The national strategy, an update of a 2010 version, includes working on ways to decrease the number of new diagnoses by at least 25 percent, create better links between those who are newly diagnosed with HIV with medical care within one month of diagnosis, and reduce the death rate by at least 33 percent.

Those goals are especially extended toward transgender women, blacks, Latinos and residents in the southern part of the nation who are HIV positive.

It’s a mission that Craig Thompson, CEO of AIDS Project Los Angeles and APLA Health and Wellness, said is consistent with his organization.

He also agrees with the call for universal use of a once-a-day drug for HIV-negative individuals who may be at high risk for contracting HIV. The drug, called Truvada, was approved by the FDA in 2012 and helps the body fight off the HIV infection before the virus establishes itself in the system. Using Truvada is part of an effort called pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP.

“Los Angeles County has made significant progress in recent years, but we must do more to increase the number of HIV-positive individuals who are virally suppressed and ensure universal access to PrEP, especially within communities of color,” Thompson said.

But not all see PrEP as a public health solution. Some say it could promote complacency.

Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, said there were many good goals outlined in the national strategy, especially the focus on people who are not in care. But he is concerned about the emphasis on PrEP.

“It may be good for some individuals but it is unproven as a public health strategy,” Weinstein said. “It’s a minor factor, and the CDC has said the goal is for 500,000 gay men to be put on this drug, which we don’t think is a good idea.”

Weinstein said prevention needs to be reinforced, especially with regard to condoms.

“What we really need from President Obama and this White House on AIDS is more action and less strategy,” Weinstein added.

In fact, some were surprised condoms weren’t mentioned signicantly in the new national strategy.

“Now the focus is toward medical treatment, but we should not forget condom use,” said Victor Martinez, a program director for Bienestar, a nonprofit organization in Los Angeles County that reaches out to the LGBT Latino community. “People need to know how to take care of themselves, and that’s not spelled out in this strategy as it was in the previous one.”

He too was concerned about the emphasis on PrEP.

“It’s not just prescribing a bottle and saying go and have fun,” Martinez said. “In order for PrEP to work safely, it has to be taken every single day. There are some pros with PrEP, but for some people it’s not easy to access.”

Martinez also said he was pleased the Obama strategy focused on health disparities and especially with regard to Latinos and transgender women. But he said the plan doesn’t go far enough to address those issues of concern to the Latino community, which is varied in itself.

Many providers agree, however, that funding is crucial for the strategies to work.

“We now must ensure that adequate resources are made available to successfully implement the plan,” Thompson of APLA said. “Although Congress has proposed to maintain funding for most HIV programs, it has also proposed cuts to several programs that will be critical to eliminating the spread of HIV in the U.S., including a proposed $30 million cut to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s STD programs. Successful implementation of the updated strategy will require continued funding for critical HIV/AIDS programs as well as ongoing implementation of the Affordable Care Act.”

The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Health Policy Director Eric Gutierrez agreed, saying the Affordable Care Act is a game-changer for those with HIV/AIDS.

In Los Angeles, 87 percent of those living with HIV are gay or bisexual men.

“An AIDS-free generation is no longer a dream and the updated National HIV/AIDS Strategy: 2020 is an evidence-based and goal-driven blueprint that can help us realize that dream, but only if the ignorance, stigma and inaction that have helped fuel the epidemic are defeated,” Gutierrez said in a statement.

This story has been updated to say that condom use in the 74-page strategy was mentioned, but not significantly.

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